Gas card plan OK, but comes very late

The new requirements outlined last week to curb the fraud associated with city-issued gas cards hopefully will curb the misuse that plagued Hattiesburg last year.

The new, more stringent system of gas procurement for city vehicles being rolled out by Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree was presented to City Council members during a Monday evening work session.

Among the new requirements:

? Fuel cards will continue to be assigned to specific vehicles, but no longer kept in the vehicle. Instead, appropriate department heads, directors or supervisors will distribute cards to employees designated as drivers at the beginning of a shift.

? Only designated drivers will be issued cards.

? Gas purchases will be more closely monitored.

? Only emergency vehicles will be permitted to use cards outside the city's James Street fuel center.

? Employees are not permitted to share their PINs, and any changes to the vehicles in a department or status of employees will result in the deactivation of the PIN.

The issue first arose publicly at the end of City Council's Dec. 16 work session, when Ward 3 Councilman Carter Carroll inquired about November charges of more than $10,000 from two cards issued to the Department of Water and Sewer.

The next day, it was revealed that the administration had been aware of potential fraudulent use of the gas cards dating back six months and that Hattiesburg Police Department had been investigating.

DuPree said questionable expenses over that period could run as high as $16,000.

DuPree apologized to council members for not making them aware of the issue at the time.

Council President Kim Bradley said he liked what he heard Monday night.

"The mayor presented some procedures that could work in trying to create some accountability, holding the individual directly responsible," Bradley said. "You can have the best proposals in the world, but if they're not implemented properly and followed up on, then it's not going to work. But I believe that we've got a start."

We agree. The plan - along with the apology - is a welcome start to fixing a long-prevalent problem, but they both come too late, and at such a high cost to taxpayers.